NetApp recently released its second annual Cloud Complexity Report. The report analyzes the experiences of global technology decision makers deploying AI at scale and shows a stark contrast between AI leaders and AI laggards. This year’s report provides global insights into the progress, readiness, challenges, and momentum since last year’s report, what we can learn from both the AI leaders and AI laggards, and the critical role of a unified data infrastructure in achieving AI success.
India heads the pack as an AI leader, with 70% of companies having AI projects up and running, or in motion. This is in stark contrast with the global average of 49%. Additionally, the report found that 91% of India-based companies will use half or more of their data to train AI models in 2024.
“The world today is driven by AI and data plays a critical role in enhancing AI capabilities,” said Puneet Gupta, Vice President & Managing Director, NetApp India/SAARC. “India is a country of humungous data sets. No surprise then, that India leads the world, and corporations are embracing AI to further their IT agenda. We are partnering with a diverse group of customers to build an intelligent data infrastructure that spans multiple environments and is the backbone of all AI projects. Clearly, the more unified and reliable your data, the more likely your AI initiatives are to be successful.”
There is a Significant Divide Between AI Leaders and AI Laggards
The report found a clear divide between AI leaders and AI laggards across several areas including:
Regions: 60% of AI-leading countries (India, Singapore, UK, USA) have AI projects up and running or in pilot, in stark contrast to 36% in AI-lagging countries (Spain, Australia/New Zealand, Germany, Japan).
- Industries: Technology leads with 70% of AI projects up and running or in pilot, while Banking & Financial Services and Manufacturing follow with 55% and 50%, respectively. However, Healthcare (38%) and Media & Entertainment (25%) are trailing.
- Company size: Larger companies (with more than 250 employees) are more likely to have AI projects in motion, with 62% reporting projects up and running or in pilot, versus 36% of smaller companies (with fewer than 250 employees).
Both AI leaders and AI laggards show a difference in their approach to AI:
- Globally, 67% of companies in AI-leading countries report having hybrid IT environments, with India leading (70%) and Japan lagging (24%).
- 87% of Indian companies have optimised IT environments for AI, and some AI-lagging countries also have AI-ready IT environments: Germany (67%) and Spain (59%)
- AI leaders are also more likely to report benefits from AI, including a 50% increase in production rates, 46% in the automation of routine activities, and a 45% improvement in customer experience.
“The rise of AI is ushering in a new disrupt-or-die era,” said Gabie Boko, Chief Marketing Officer at NetApp. “Data-ready enterprises that connect and unify broad structured and unstructured data sets into an intelligent data infrastructure are best positioned to win in the age of AI.”
AI Laggards Must Swiftly Innovate to Stay Competitive
Despite the divide, there is notable progress among AI laggards in preparing their IT environments for AI, but the window to catch up is closing rapidly.
- A significant number of companies in AI-lagging countries (42%) have optimised their IT environments for AI, including Germany (67%) and Spain (59%)
- Companies in some AI-lagging countries already report they see the benefits of a unified data infrastructure in place, such as:
○ Easier data sharing: Spain (45%), Australia/New Zealand (43%), Germany (44%)
○ Increased visibility: Spain (54%) and Germany (46%)
IT Costs and Data Security Emerge as Top Challenges but Won’t Impede AI Progress
Rising IT costs and ensuring data security are the two of the biggest challenges in the AI era, but they will not block AI progress. Instead, AI leaders will scale back, cut other IT operations, or reallocate costs from other parts of the business to fund AI initiatives.
- 53% of India-based companies reported being more likely to scale back or cut other parts of IT operations to make room for AI projects
- 71% of Indian enterprises feel cybersecurity is the biggest challenge for managing the increasing complexity of data across cloud or multicloud environments
- This is followed by 52% of tech leaders reporting increased skepticism over cloud and 37% worrying about going overbudget
Security, AI, and CloudOps Drive 2024 Cloud Investments
As global companies, whether AI leaders or AI laggards, increase investments, they are relying on the cloud to support their goals.
- Increasing data security investments is a global priority, jumping 25% from 33% in 2023 to 58% in 2024
- 82% of Indian companies reported plans to improve security within their company’s public cloud usage in 2024
- This was followed by cost management and automation of processes at 66% each, and resource inventory and utilisation at 52%
Methodology
In March 2024, market research firm Savanta fielded a quantitative study, on behalf of NetApp, of 1,300 IT executives from key markets across the world including US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Australia/New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and India.
